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Racketeering Suit Against the American Academy of Pediatrics Awaits a Ruling on Dismissal
September 29, 2026
A vaccine-skeptic group accuses the nation's largest pediatric organization of fraud. None of it has been proven, and the case is still at the earliest stage.
Children's Health Defense (CHD) and five other plaintiffs sued the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), accusing it of running a decades-long racketeering scheme to defraud families about the safety of the childhood vaccine schedule. The case is Shaw v. American Academy of Pediatrics, No. 1:26-cv-00171. It was filed January 21, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and assigned to Judge Timothy J. Kelly.
The allegations
The plaintiffs invoke the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, sections 1962(c) and (d). Their central claim is that the AAP promoted false certainty that the childhood schedule is thoroughly tested and safe, despite the absence of proper vaccinated-versus-unvaccinated comparisons.
To support this, the complaint relies on Institute of Medicine reviews from 2002 and 2013. Those reviews called for more research and acknowledged that no studies had compared health outcomes between vaccinated and unvaccinated children. The plaintiffs also allege a financial motive: that the AAP received funding from vaccine manufacturers and gave pediatricians financial incentives for achieving high vaccination rates.
They seek damages for the individual plaintiffs, a court order requiring the AAP to disclose the "lack of comprehensive safety testing," and an injunction barring "further unqualified safety claims."
Where the case stands
After the January 21 filing, the AAP was served on February 2, with an answer due February 23. The parties then jointly sought more time to brief a motion to dismiss.
On April 3, 2026, the AAP moved to dismiss on several grounds, including standing, as Bloomberg Law reported. Plaintiffs' response was due by June 9, 2026. The docket shows a response from Andrea Shaw and a reply from the AAP, so briefing appears complete.
There is so far no ruling on the motion. If the court grants it, the case could end before any evidence is examined.
Related developments
On the day CHD filed, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an investigation into financial ties among vaccine developers, insurers and pediatricians.
A separate case is also worth watching. In AAP v. Kennedy in Massachusetts federal court, the AAP is a plaintiff, not a defendant, challenging changes to federal vaccine policy. In January 2026 that court denied the government's motion to dismiss, finding the plaintiffs had standing and had plausibly alleged violations of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Some RICO plaintiffs sought to intervene in that case, which links the two.
Behind both cases is a broader political fight. CHD is a nonprofit aligned with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the suit is part of the dispute over his reshaping of federal vaccine policy.
What readers should know
The AAP has not conceded anything. It continues to advise vaccinating children against 18 diseases, contrary to the CDC's changed recommendations. Nothing in the complaint has been tested by a court.
The case matters for two reasons: what it means for public trust in pediatric guidance, and whether RICO can be used against a medical professional body.
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